America is composed of many strands, as is America’s Jewry. That idea animates a new production coming to the Bay Area from Jewish storytelling troupe The Braid.
“L’Chaim, America!” weaves real-life stories from an array of Jewish Americans, including Asian, Native American and Black Jews, into a tapestry of experiences using The Braid’s signature style of storytelling in which actors re-enact written anecdotes. “L’Chaim” will play in San Francisco, Los Altos Hills and Los Gatos from May 29 to 31 — just ahead of America’s semiquincentennial, which is a hook for this production.
“This is America’s 250th birthday,” said David Chiu, communications manager at the Santa Monica-based nonprofit. “We wanted to take a broader look at this country through a sophisticated and nuanced lens and explore the Jewish American story in that larger American story.”
In the production, directed by Susan Morgenstern, professional actors reproduce personal stories and scenes from 15 writers. For the Bay Area run, the actors are Zoë Hall, Lillian Mimi McKenzie, Marcelo Tubert and Joshua Silverstein, who also is one of the writers. Together they portray true stories that take the audience from Wyoming to El Salvador, and a range of spots in between.
“We really leaned into the rich diversity of what it means to be a Jew in America today,” said Chiu, another of the show’s writers. “I’m an Asian American Jew. We have Joshua Silverstein writing this amazing story about activism and how the Black and the Jewish communities came together in the ’60s and ’70s to change the world. We have reflections from Esther Amini, who’s a memoirist, about Thanksgiving from a Persian Jewish perspective. We have a Native American Jew, Emily Bowen Cohen, whose ties to this country extend before the country even existed.”
It’s not the first time that The Braid, which was founded as the Jewish Women’s Theatre in 2007, has tackled the complex stories and identities of American Jews. Previous shows that have toured the Bay Area, “True Colors,” “What Do I Do With All This Heritage?” and “Yearning to Breathe Free,” have all explored the lives of immigrants and Jews of color.
Chiu said the fact that the new show is tied to America’s 250th anniversary enables it to tackle complex questions about belonging at a pivotal time.
“I think this show allows us to do that and ask those questions that are on our hearts right now,” Chiu said, “and maybe search for the America that we’re looking for in our hearts.”